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urr ammsmts

The Tynmny of the Horss

utomobile That h

Number 28

I feel ambivalent about many artifacts

of life. Take horns, for example. Thk

most ancient of musicrd instruments

evolved into the fantastic device which

we cafl the French horn, the Germans

call das Orchester blass horn, and the

French have appropriately named fe cor

dhai-monie. In any case, this instrument

is a joy to hear. My friend Mel W ein-

stock, now head of the School of Librar-

ianship, University of New South Wales,

Australia, first introduced me to the sub-

tleties of the French horn. Thanks to

him, I occasionally enjoy the recordings

of Dennis Brain playing Mozart horn

concerti.

Up untif then the word horn was, for

me, synonymous with sax. A great jazz

saxophonist plays a cool or mean horn

and the term is used more often these

days than sax. Current Contents (CP)

readers know how much I enjoy that

most melodious of instruments created

by the Belgian clarinet maker Adolphe

Sax in 1838.1

When we leave the realm of music and

enter the hectic day-to-day world of

modem technology, my feelings about

horns change considerably. Unfortu-

nately, once the horn became attached

to a motor vehicle, such as the automo-

bile or truck, it was transformed from an

instrument of joy into an instrument of

torture.

The idea of putting horns on moving

vehicles predates the invention of the

automobile. In fact, the first car to

Julyll 1983

have a horn did not even have a motor.

It was an elaborate horseless carriage,

built in the mid-seventeenth century in

Nuremberg by a clockmaker named

Hautzsch.z Although Hautzsch claimed

his car was propeUed by clockwork,

historian Edgar B. Schieldrop believes

that it was actually powered by two

workmen concealed under the hood

pedaling, in the same way as boys do

now in their toy cars.z This mysterious

carriage drew crowds of onlookers

wherever it went. When they threatened

to impede its progress, an ornamental

dragon head in front would squirt water

on the busybodies, while the two angels

at the sides raised bassoons to their lips

and began to blow. The Swedish Crown

Prince Karl Gustav purchased this vehi-

cle and used it in his coronation proces-

sion.z

Two centuries later, with the advent

of the fiit true automobiles, a variety of

warning signals were adopted. This oc-

curred not only because motorists want-

ed the roads cleared but also, in some

cases, because of pressure from various

groups of citizens. In England, where

road-going steam buses were used on a

limited basis during the mid-nineteenth

century, public outcry against the haz-

ards they posed resulted in the passage in

1865 of the Red Flag Act, or Locomo-

tives on Highways Act. This law speci-

fied that all motorized vehicles be pre-

ceded by a man on foot carrying a flag

during the day or a lantern at nights

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Some of the earliest proposals for reg-

ulating the automobile in the US were,

from the point of view of the motorist,

equally impractical. One Massachusetts

lawmaker proposed that all cars be

equipped with a bell that would ring with

each revolution of the wheefs. dAnother

suggested that motorists shoot Roman

candles ahead to forewarn drivers of ap-

proaching horse-drawn vehicles. The

Farmers Anti-Automobile Society of

Pennsylvania demanded adequate war-

ningbut added, If a horse is unwilling to

pass an automobile, the driver should

take the machme apart and conceal the

parts in the bushes.d

At the turn of the century, motorists

could choose from a variety of signaling

devices, including bells, whistles, and

small, hand-squeezed bulb horns. In

America, most chose bells. Despite the

noise made by these devices, the auto-

mobile was viewed as a quiet alternative

to the horse and carriage. The clatter of

horses hooves and the bouncing of met-

al carnage wheels over cobblestones

were great contributors to urban noise in

those days. Autos, with their pneumatic

tires riding over asphalt surfaces, were

considered by some to be a panacea. In

endorsing the auto, Scientific A mericdn

pointed out,

Specialists have many

times expressed an opinion that the ner-

vous disorders which exist in the city are

aggravated, if not caused, in many cases

by the citys great traffic.s

Alas, as the number of autos began to

increase after the turn of the century,

cities, towns, and rural areas alike wit-

nessed the rise of promiscuous bell-ring-

ing. As early as 1900, a news item in the

New York Tnbune described an acci-

dent in which a nurse was struck and

killed by an auto. According to the ac-

count, the driver of the vehicle dld not

slow down or steer out of the way, but

considered his responsibility fully dis-

charged by ringing the gong.d

According to the motoring periodicals

of the day, the proliferation of vehicles

and the fact that so many of them used

DWS

contrmutea to me Imelmooci 01 ac-

cidents. As one columnist wrote, Auto-

mobile bells.. might easily be taken, by

their sound, to belong to cable or trolley

cars, to bicycle [hot rods], even to

bakers wagons, at greater or lesser dis-

tances. b To counter the exasperating

indifference of the public to a small

bell, motorists needed a more dktinc-

tive warning signal. Many writers sug-

gested that the best alternative would be

the bulb horn.6-B

After the turn of the century, the bulb

horn, which was already popular in

France, gradually became standard in

most American cities. Though it was

first hailed as being more novel and

penetrating7 than the bell, a predict-

able thing happened. Any usefulness

that the horn had was quickly negated by

the fact that people in cities were con-

stantly tooting at one another. In 1913,

Charles Johnson, of Motor, complained,

The dull, monotonous and utterly in-

nocuous droning of the bulb horn has

become such a continuous noise in many

sections and cities that people pay no

more attention to it than one does to the

buzz of machinery in the building where

he maybe located.g

After 1910, motoring periodicals were

once again calling for a more effective

warning device. Particularly on country

roads, it was argued, one needed a signal

clearly audible at least an eighth of a

mile ahead.lo Manufacturers were

quick to oblige by developing a variety

of powerful new warning signals. These

included whistles, chimes, sirens, and

horns which ran off of exhaust gases. 1I

One of these was a one-mile signal

called the Sireno. Its name comes, of

course, from siren, originally the Greek

term for the mythological creatures who

lured mariners to destruction with song.

Another custom horn was the Godirt, for

which advertisements read, You press

as you steer and your pathway is

clear. I1

Probably the most famous horn of the

teens and 1920s was the Gabriel. This

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multitoned exhaust horn was publicized

by the manufacturer as being both

powerful and pleasing to the ear.

Everybody lies its organ-like tone and

cheerfully moves aside as it sends forth

its warning .1I

Some people, however, preferred the

harsher and more abrupt tone of a de-

vice called the Klaxon. This horn got its

name from the Greek word

klaxo,

mean-

ing to shriek.

12 lt Consisted of an ele~-

trically powered vibrating metal dia-

phragm. According

to

the manufactur-

er, the Klaxon actually reduced annoy-

ance. Whereas other horns had to be

sounded continuously, one touch on

the Klaxon was enough. With a Klaxon

it was a rare thing to have to apply the

brakes or slow down as there never

seems any apparent reason to. More-

over, the Klaxon was touted as the only

horn which would instantly move cows

and bullocks .11

Although today air horns are still used

on some trucks and diesel trains, it was

the Klaxon-type, diaphragm horn which

surnved and evolved into the modern-

day automobile horn. In fact, in French

the word klaxon has become the ge-

neric term, meaning automobile horn,

or hooter.

Modem diaphragm horns

are powered electrically. They typically

consist of an electromagnet and contact

breaker wired to a circuit. When the cir-

cuit is completed by pressing the horn

button, an electromagnet rapidly goes

on and off, making a piston-like arma-

ture move rapidly up and down. The pis-

ton causes an attached diaphragm to vi-

brate a column of air which in turn be-

gins to vibrate a sound chamber. is In

some models, thk consists of a coiled

bugle device. In others it is a resona-

tor plate. The sound chamber amplifies

the sound produced by the diaphragm

and augments it with a second, higher

pitched tone. 14

Horns are engineered this way to

make them audible over background

traffic noise. Although a powerful, low-

frequency note can carry long dktances

in the

absence of interference noises,

this type of sound can get lost under the

low-frequency rumble of traffic. 11 A

higher pitched tone penetrates better at

greater distances on busy city streets and

on the highway where there is a great

deal of sound interference, For any

given sound intensity, in fact, the most

penetrating signal for a car moving at

highway speed would be tuned to rough-

ly 4,000 cycles per second. According to

Automobile Facts, this high-pitched

sound is so unpleasant to the ear that

engineers have compromised and tuned

most horns lower. 15Until the mid- 1960s

many American cars were tuned to the

musical notes E flat and C, a combina-

tion deemed to be pleasing to the ear,

Since then some manufacturers have

moved up the scale to the notes F sharp

and A sharp, lb

Still, the compromise is not a perfect

one. Levels of background noise have

continued to increase, and automobile

manufacturers at the same time have

made efforts to soundproof their prod-

ucts. The replacement of the old wood

and cloth auto bodies with modem glass

and steel significantly cut down on the

amount of noise from the outside which

can penetrate a cars interior, whether

this is traffic noise or the sound of a

horn. More recent attempts to assure a

quiet ride have, in fact, been so success-

ful that under certain conditions, even

the sirens of emergency vehicles, which

are far louder than conventional horns,

cannot be heard. 17 This is particularly

true if the driver you are signaling has

the windows rolled up and the air condi-

tioner or radio turned on. Interestingly,

at high speeds, rolling down windows

may not improve, and may even detract

from, ones ability to hear a horn or siren

since it greatly increases the background

intenor noise level in the car. Another

problem with horns at high speeds is that

the car may catch up to the sound too

fast. According to Popular Science,

horn manufacturers are concerned that

highway drivers may be overdriving

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their horns. At 65 m.p.h., they say, a

signal may be heard only one to two car

lengths ahead. is

On the other hand, pedestrians and

residents along urban thoroughfares

have

no

problem hearing the sound of

automobile horns. In my opinion, this is

one of the most irritating types of noise.

I have previously discussed the adverse

effects of pervasive loud noise. la Noise

can cause no only hearing loss, but car-

diovascular stress and a host of other

physiological and emotional problems. 19

At various times in the history of the

automobile, and in various places, peo-

ple have attempted to curb the noise

problem either by making it illegal to

honk too much, too loud, or in particu-

lar locations at certain times of the day.

By 1912, a number of cities in America,

among them Chicago, St. Louis, Los An-

geles, Cincinnati, Seattle, and Dallas,

had laws requiring motorized vehicles to

have audible warning devices, on the

one hand, but forblddhg the excessive

use of these devices, on the other.g

Some cities made it illegal to use loud

electric horns within city limits.zo

A law enacted in Pans during the

1920s went somewhat further, by mak-

ing it illegal to use a horn after midnight.

The law stated that drivers must slack-

en the pace of their vehicle everywhere

needed, in particular at crossroads, so as

to make it useless to use a horn. In

1954, the ban was extended to daytime

driving as well.zl

Though many cities have antihom

laws on the books, Memphis, Tennes-

see, has one of the most successful

records of enforcement. According to

one story, this began around 1940. A

newspaper edhor was ill and had to stay

home from work for some time. Every

evening the girl who lived across the

street had a rendezvous with her boy-

friend. He would sit in his car and honk

until she came out. The editor, upon re-

turning to work, prepared scathing edk

torials about the unnecessary hom-

blowing that was going on in the city. A

wider publicity campaign foflowed, cou-

pled with a vigorous policy of ticketing

offenders. As a result, Memphis earned

a reputation as the quietest citv. zz

Other cities have not been so suc-

cessful. In New York City, where anti-

hom laws no less strict than those in

Memphis have been on the books for

years, enforcement has been sporadic,

During the 1950s, New Yorks Commit-

tee for a Quiet Chy decided that the

citys highest priority should be to

eliminate unnecessary horn-honking.

The committee organized a publicity

campaign which lasted three months.

During this time the media publicized

the fact that New York had antihom-

honking ordinances, and police issued

warnings to offending drivers. The proj-

ect culminated in Q-Day, on March

15, 1956. Q-Day was a success. Decibel

readings at the busiest intersections

dropped 75 percent. The committee

concluded, Needless homblowing can

be drastically reduced and could even-

tually be virtually eliminated when an in-

tensive educational campaign is com-

bined with,, periodic enforcement .~

This goal, however, proved elusive. In

1973, the city took a new tack in its bat-

tle for quiet. It planned to regulate the

decibel output of the newly manufac-

tured horns themselves. During 1974,

however, this legislation was abandoned

as the quieter horns it was calliig for

could not be heard over the noise of traf-

fic. Today, according to Mark Simon,

Department of Environmental Protec-

tion, Division of Noise Abatement, anti-

honking laws remain on the books but

citations are rarely issued unless some-

one files a complaint against a delin-

quent driver.zd

There are still some places where it is

not only legal but customary to honk to

your hearts content. On a recent trip to

China, my limousine driver used the

horn once every five seconds or less for a

half hour. Driven to distraction, I asked

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Km to stop for a short break. During our

conversation I then bet him that he

could not reach our destination without

using the horn at least three times. Re-

markably, he used the horn just twice.

When I offered to pay the bet, he polite-

ly refused. But he then explained that if

he had hh a pedestrian or bicyclist he

would have been held liable for not hav-

ing used hk horn as a precaution. This

policy appears to be totally counterpro-

ductive. Drivers consistently overuse

their horns, and the masses of people in

the streets completely ignore them.

As this anecdote illustrates, to the ex-

tent that laws and social norms let them,

drivers really can get addicted to unnec-

essary use of the horn. As

Automobile

Facts

has stated, it is dtificult to over-

come peoples tendency to use the horn

as an instrument for the amplified ex-

pression of social protest or gratuitous

insult. ls

Unfortunately, when some people get

behind the steering wheel, they are sim-

ply out of control. I recall a BBC film I

once saw on television dramatizing the

accident-prone driver. The opening

scene shows a timid family man kissing

his very gentle wife good-bye after

breakfast, He gets into his car and within

60 seconds his face gradually transforms,

as in the classic film versions of

Dr.

J ek yl l M r . H yd e into an ogre, foam-

ing at the mouth like a rabid dog and

honking at everything in sight.

Ive seen this behavior in some of my

closest friends. An in-law of mine was

transformed into a raging l ion when he

got behind the steering wheel. The

slightest infraction of his right-of-way

on the street or highway turned him into

a raving maniac. One time the vehicle in

front of him did not move out of the in-

tersection fast enough to suit his tem-

perament. When leaning on his horn

failed to get instant action, he got out of

his car, went up to the auto at the traffic

light, and pulled the driver out by the

scruff of his neck. When the driver

emerged he proved to be six feet four

inches tall. In spite of that experience,

my in-law continued to rant, rave, and

honk at offending drivers.

I checked Social Sciences

Citation In-

dex (SSCP )

to determine if there had

ever been an investigation of this meth-

od of using the power of the auto to

overcome frustration, In fact, hom-

honking turns out to be one of the more

studied aspects of driving behavior. In

1968, two psychologists, Anthony N.

Doob, University of Toronto, and Alan

E. Gross, University of Wisconsin, ran

an experiment to study the various fac-

tors that inhibited and encouraged the

expression of frustration in driving situa-

tions. Participants in the experiment

were asked to drive cars to a particular

intersection, wait for the light to turn

green, and then sit at the intersection for

15 seconds or until the car behind them

began to honk.zs Three different types

of cars were used in the experiment: a

shiny new Chrysler Imperial, a rusty old

Ford station wagon, and a grimy Ram-

bler. The study found that people were

less likely to honk at the high-status

Chrysler Imperial than at the older, less

impressive cars. Eight y-four percent of

drivers stuck behind the older cars

honked. Forty-seven percent honked

twice. Of the people forced to wait

behind the Chrysler, only half honked

once and less than 20 percent did so a

second time. The same study also found

that men were quicker to blow their

horns than women.zs

Women, as it turns out, are not only

less inclined to honk than men, but also

more likely to be honked at. A 1971

study, performed by Kay K. Deaux, Pur-

due University, replicated the Doob and

Gross experiment but varied the sex of

the frustrator as well as the status of

the cars used to block intersections.

Deaux found the sex of the driver to be

the most important influence on honk-

ing behavior. Only 52 percent of the

male experimental drivers were tooted

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at compared to 71 percent of the fe-

males. Deaux concluded from these

findings that the damn female driver

stereotype is accompanied by behav-

ioral manifestations.zb

In another variation of the Doob and

Gross experiment, Robert A. Baron,

Purdue University, attempted to mea-

sure the effects of uncomfortably warm

temperatures and a range of other stimu-

fi on aggressive honking. On an unpleas-

antly warm day, drivers were quicker to

honk at the experimental vehicle. But

this reaction could be slowed down if,

immediately prior to being stuck in traf-

fic, drivers experienced one of several

staged distractions designed to evoke

amusement, empathy, or mild sexual

arousal. The detractions were provided

by a young woman who crossed the in-

tersection during the red light hobbling

on crutches, wearing an outlandish, lm-

morous clown mask, or dressed in an

extremely brief and revealing outfit of a

very unusual type. As Baron had pre-

dicted, exposure to these stimuli length-

ened the period of time subjects would

wait before honking.zT

Finally, Charles W. Turner, John F.

Layton, and Lynn S. Simons, University

of Utah, designed different versions of

thk experiment, in which they measured

the effect of such variables as victim

visibility and aggressive bumper stick-

ers, paired with rifles hung in the rear

windows of the frustrators cars. In this

experiment, subjects were far more like-

ly to honk at the drivers of experimental

cars if they could not see their faces or

make eye contact. Aggressive bumper

stickers and rifles encouraged honking

among some,

but not all, groups of

dnvers.~

It would be interesting, if it were

possible, to learn what effect the entire

removal of horns would have on acci-

dent statistics. I have no documentation

for th~, but I am confident that taking

away peoples horns would reduce, rath-

er than increase, accidents. It is not only

annoying to have people constantly us-

ing the horn when they should simply

release the accelerator or gently apply

the brakes, but it is no doubt dangerous

as well. Honking a horn may induce

panic, thus causing, rather than prevent-

ing, accidents. And it certainly frightens

pedestrians.

Perhaps there are occasional freak ac-

cidents which might have been avoided

by a timely horn signal. And there are

winding mountain roads where it is often

obligatory to sound the horn, but one

wonders if in most instances hem-honk-

ing isnt a poor substitute for simply

slowing down. In discussing the horn

back in 1912, a motor columnist wrote,

It is far better to depend upon your own

abiMy to get out of the other mans way

than upon his ability to get

out

of

yours.

,,10 This is an aphorism which

some contemporary drivers would do

well to remember.

M y thanks to T er n F r eedman and

K at hl een N el l Sch al ch for t hei r h el p i n

t h ep r epar a t i on of t h i s essa y.

o 9 8s 5

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